A re-enactment of the Aug. 9th fatal shooting of Michael Brown by sixth grade students in Dallas County, Alabama has resulted in the suspension of the students’ teacher.

Despite initial reports of the teacher being placed on paid administrative leave, Dallas County School System Superintendent Don Willingham stated that the unnamed Brantley Elementary School teacher has been suspended now without pay.

On Thursday, Willingham detailed the incident during a meeting with the teacher and the school’s principal.

The re-enactment, came to the public’s attention via a parent of one of the students who complained about the class assignment on social media. According to reports, the assignment started out as an innocent current events lesson that found the students discussing Brown’s death, which has sparked riots and protests in Ferguson, MO and the rest of the country.
Although she had no problem with the discussion, the student’s mother, Jessica Baughn, feels the reenactment of the shooting death of Brown by the students went too far.

“This is not nowhere near right,” Baughn told WSFA 12 News. “It was uncalled for.”
“She [the teacher] had them get on the internet and look up everything about [the Ferguson shooting],” she continued. “They proceeded to re-enact the shooting in class.”

Going into more detail about the assignment, Baughn mentioned that her son and the other six graders used paper guns and paper bullets. “They actually shot them out of this made gun. The child falls on the ground like he’s dead.”

A white child played the role of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, while a black student portrayed Michael Brown, Baughn claimed.

“I understand talking about current history, but not re-enacting it I don’t… What are we teaching our children?” she said.

Despite the school system not releasing the teacher’s name, Superintendent Willingham revealed that he called a meeting with the teacher and school principal as soon as he knew of the situation.

In addition, Willingham admitted to talking with Baughn about the incident and placing the teacher on leave to avoid any kind of awkwardness until the investigation is finished.
Overall, WSFA mentioned that Willingham made a point of encouraging all parents to come to him first if they have a problem with what goes on in the classroom.

As for Baughn, she said school administrators are mad at her because she aired her concerns on social media before talking with them about it.

“But as a parent I think other parents need to know,” she said. “That’s what’s wwrong with society right now, parents are not aware of what’s going on in schools. They’re not aware of what their children are being exposed to, and me as a parent, I want to know.”